Some friends hosted a wine and cheese tasting party last night and asked me to bring some cheeses. I took a blue that is over 1 year old and very “mature”, I took the cheese we made in a recent class at a local creamery, there was a very dry white cheddar that just crumbles into wonderful, salty flavor, a Camembert that is ready to eat (for sure). But, the real prize was a blue cheese made raw milk. It was my first ever raw milk cheese. I wanted to age it for 6 months, but it had passed it’s 90-day mark a few days ago and I cut a nice wedge from it.

Absolutely wonderful. Probably my best Blue ever. Maybe my best cheese ever. This is what it is all about.

I’ll go through my notes and post the recipe, and I’ll try to get a photo later today. But, I just had to brag about that cheese this morning.

long time rick , u’ve been busy?

Yes. Not much cheesing going on here. But, I enjoy keeping track of all the posts.

this what managers do

Here are my notes on this cheese. (This was before the PH meter.) All temperatures are °F. I made this on December 7, 2009.

Used 2 gallons of RAW milk. Brought to 90 degrees. Added 1/8 tsp p. roqueforti and stirred in. Then added 1/4 tsp of MM100 meso and a scant 1/8 tsp of LM57 for finish. Let set on top then stirred in. Allowed to ripen for 60 minutes, always at 90 degrees.

Added 1/4 tsp of CaCl, which was stupid since this was raw milk, but is habit. Then 1/4 tsp of rennet dissolved in some cool tap water. Allowed to set undisturbed and at 90 degrees for 45 minutes.

Nice curd formation, the best I’ve ever seen. Cut into 1/2” cubes and stirred gently every 5 minutes or so for an hour. Allowed to settle for 5 minutes. Drained in collandar for 5 minutes then spooned into mold.

Turned mold every 15 minutes for 2 hours then allowed to sit overnight (about 8 hours). Turned again in the morning, and unmolded. Salted outside then put in fridge at 57-60 degrees and 95% humidity. Salted and turned occasionally for the next week.

Poked about 40 holes with a metal skewer most top-to-bottom but a few horizontal after one week, keep at 50 degrees 95%.

Scraped mold on 2/8/09 (60-days after making it). Wrapped tightly in foil and put in 35°F fridge.

Wonderful to hear. Dare I ask?? Pictures please

Okay, here are the photos. In one, the rind is in focus. In the other, the cheese. Yum.

Oh its gorgeous!  Is 90 days the safe mark for raw milk cheese? There’s some minimum time you’re supposed to mature them to make them safe isn’t it?

That looks fantastic!!
90 is the safety mark, the natural enzymes in the cheese consumes any bacteria that may be in the milk.

60 days are the minimum limit to consume unpasteurized milk products.

Rick Robinson - 17 March 2009 01:04 AM

Okay, here are the photos. In one, the rind is in focus. In the other, the cheese. Yum.

This looks a great success!!!
Rick, how do you “isolate” the cheese from the others during aging, to prevent contamination?

Neil - 17 March 2009 02:21 AM

That looks fantastic!!
90 is the safety mark, the natural enzymes in the cheese consumes any bacteria that may be in the milk.

60 minimum not 90 , reference to American standards

French (most European) , do follow this rules

Sandor - 17 March 2009 05:41 AM

Rick, how do you “isolate” the cheese from the others during aging, to prevent contamination?

Um..well there is a story there…

1st, I have a special fridge used only for blue cheeses. That helps some. However, this year I did get some contamination in my aging room and I have a wonderful blue tinted jack and nice caraway-blue Swiss! (Really just the rinds got contaminated.)

I need to clean and sterilize the whole room this summer and be more careful next winter.

Rick, congrats on such a fantastic looking cheese.
I’ve become obsessed with Stilton cheese and just recently opened my best attempt so far.
This cheese had the texture of a cheddar but the cheese was still nice and creamy and had a very strong flavor.
I have to say that the veining in your cheese is one of the best examples I’ve seen in the home making environment.
Could you please tell me what you use to pierce your cheese?
I know that Tom (FineWino) uses a bicycle spoke and recently I used a small diameter piece of stainless wire (about half the size of the bicycle spoke. I’m hoping this will solve the cracking problems I’ve been experiencing, yet I also wonder if the holes I put into this cheese will allow enough air inside to get the veining I’ve been looking for.
Previously I’ve used an old analog thermomemter I had but not only did it cause the wheel to crack, it also produced highly concentrated areas of the blue mold in the center of the cheese.
Any help you can give would be appreciated.

Dave

I used a knitting needle. I am not sure what size, it was small—probably closer to the analog thermometer than a bicycle wheel spoke. The cheese was sufficiently soft that it did not crack at all. I put about 35 or 40 holes top-to-bottom, and even 6 or 8 side-to-side. One trick: I did heat the knitting needle in boiling water in between pokes And, of course, the needle was well sterilized. You must create a big enough hole for air to penetrate.

Just to nudge the 60 day talk. As they say, MINIMUM, if its minimum then some times its wise to go a little further. With the stuff thats floating around now a days I would rather be a bit safer then be right on the boarder line of 60 days.

———————-
Is it safe to eat cheese made with raw milk?

Yes, it is!

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, under the Food and Drug Regulations, allows the making and the sale of cheese made with raw milk provided that:

Article 8.08.044 (1): “....No person shall sell cheese, including cheese curd, that is not made from a pasteurized source unless it has been stored.

Article B.08.030: “stored” means to have been kept or held at a temperature of 2ºC more for a period of 60 days or more from the date of the beginning of the manufacturing process.

And every batch of cheese is analyzed for bacterial content before being released. Limits for E. coli and Staphyloccocus aureus are set by the Agency and must be met.

So, enjoy the flavour of La Chaudière raw milk cheddars and Swiss emmental without concerns. The mild cheddar, our youngest raw milk cheese, exceeds the requirements with an aging period of 90 days.